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US Senate ‘to present funding package this week’; 10 die in Russian strike on eastern town

US Senate ‘to present funding package this week’; 10 die in Russian strike on eastern town
Bloomberg
By Bloomberg
7 Jan 2024
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The US Senate was expected to introduce a proposal to fund the government this week, Senator James Lankford said. Further US aid to allies such as Ukraine and Israel has been stalled by the deadlock.

At least 11 people, including five children, died in a Russian strike on the eastern Ukrainian town of Pokrovsk, hours after Kyiv said it destroyed a Russian military command post in western Crimea. 

Denmark’s donation of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine will be delayed by months, the Berlingske newspaper reported, citing the Nordic country’s Ministry of Defence. 

US Senate to present funding package this week, say legislators


The US Senate was expected to introduce a proposal to fund the government this week, Senator James Lankford said, after months of impasse over potential changes to US policy at the border with Mexico.

Congress must reach a deal for funding the US government to avoid the start of a government shutdown on 20 January. Further US aid to allies such as Ukraine and Israel has been stalled by the deadlock.

“We’re hoping to get a text out later this week,” Lankford, the main Republican negotiator in the Senate, said on Fox News Sunday. “Everybody will have time to be able to read it and go through it. Nobody is going to be jammed in this process.” 

“That’s encouraging. I want us to see that. I want us to start talking about these national-security issues that we have,” Representative Tony Gonzales, a Texas Republican, said on ABC’s This Week.  

Neither legislator provided specifics on what policies the bill might include, nor a top-line spending number. Republicans are demanding stricter asylum policies and measures to reduce the number of migrants crossing at the southern border in exchange for clearing the foreign military aid sought by the White House. 

Saudi Arabia cuts oil prices to Asia as market weakness persists


Saudi Arabia will cut key crude prices for buyers in all regions, including its main Asia market, for February amid persistent weakness in the market.

Oil consumption typically eases during February and March, with refiners using the period to shut some facilities for periodic maintenance. At the same time, strong global supply, including from the US, is raising the likelihood of a surplus that forced the Opec+ group, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, to extend output cuts into this year.

State producer Saudi Aramco reduced its flagship Arab Light price to Asia by $2 to $1.50 a barrel above the benchmark. That’s bigger than a $1.25 per barrel reduction estimated in a Bloomberg survey of refiners and traders. Aramco also cut all prices for February delivery to Northwest Europe, the Mediterranean and North America.

Global crude prices declined in 2023 for the first time since 2020. The market has so far shrugged off concern over the Israel-Hamas war and deepening Middle East turmoil. Attacks by Houthi militants on merchant vessels transiting the Red Sea also haven’t yet resulted in supply disruptions.

Turkish e-commerce giant’s CEO plays the long game in Ukraine


One of Turkey’s biggest e-commerce companies plans to launch operations in Ukraine even as Russia’s invasion nears the two-year mark with no end in sight. 

Hepsiburada.com aims to start selling goods in Ukraine if a trial run is deemed successful. It’s part of a longer-term strategy for the online group, which is battling to recover from a stock price plunge since floating on the Nasdaq in 2021.

“Ukraine is a difficult but important market for Turkey,” said CEO Nilhan Onal Gokcetekin, who took over a year ago and pledged to return the Istanbul-based retailer to profitability.

“This is a strategic investment for us. In the future, [Ukraine] will normalise and we want to be ready,” she told Bloomberg News. 

Ukraine already offers an opportunity given the challenges residents there face in sourcing goods domestically or resorting to cross-border shipments with extended delivery times, she added.  

Russian Donetsk strike kills 10 after Crimean air base is hit


At least 11 people, including five children, died in a Russian strike on the eastern Ukrainian town of Pokrovsk, hours after Kyiv said it destroyed a Russian military command post in western Crimea. 

The five children were among those killed when residential buildings were hit with S-300 long-range surface-to-air missiles, according to the head of the Donetsk regional administration. Another eight people were injured.  

“The blow of the Russians was simply on ordinary residential buildings, on private houses,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address to the nation. 

Saturday was Orthodox Christmas Eve in Russia and Ukraine, although many Ukrainians have switched to celebrating Christmas on 25 December. 

Pokrovsk, which had a pre-war population of more than 60,000, lies west of towns including Avdiyivka in the Donetsk region, where Ukrainian and Russian troops have been fighting for months. It suffered at least two previous missile attacks in the autumn. 

Read more: North Korea likely sending its newest missiles to Russia 

Earlier on Saturday, Ukraine’s air forces commander said Kyiv’s troops destroyed a Russian command post at the Saky air base in western Crimea. The claim couldn’t be independently verified.

Mykola Oleshchuk, in a Telegram post, thanked Ukrainian soldiers for “wonderful work”, without specifying the timing of the attack or providing other details.

The reported strike followed Ukraine’s recent missile attacks on the eastern Crimean port of Feodosia, destroying the large landing ship, Novocherkassk, and on western Yevpatoriya and southwestern Sevastopol. 

Read more: Putin risks losing vital naval hub as Ukraine strikes in Crimea 

Russia’s defence ministry said in a statement that it “intercepted and destroyed” four missiles over the Crimean peninsula early on Saturday morning, after downing 36 drones a day earlier.

Danish F-16 jets to Ukraine ‘will be delayed’

Denmark’s donation of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine will be delayed by months, the Berlingske newspaper reported, citing the Nordic country’s Ministry of Defence.

One of the biggest contributors to Ukraine’s defence, Denmark was due to supply the first six of the aircraft around the beginning of the year, but they’ll instead be delivered during the second quarter, the ministry said, according to the newspaper.  

Berlingske quoted the ministry as saying the delivery schedule always hinged on several conditions being met. These include the successful training of Ukrainian pilots as well as the availability of sufficient logistics and infrastructure to service the aircraft in Ukraine, the ministry said, without providing more detail.

Denmark’s prime minister in August pledged to send 19 F-16s to Kyiv, part of an effort by allies to provide advanced weapons to Ukraine to beat back Russia’s invasion. 

Read more: Ukraine to get F-16s from Nato allies, with Denmark pledging 19

There are currently six Ukrainian pilots training on the advanced fighter jets in Denmark, according to Berlingske. Both Belgium and Norway have sent extra F-16s and personnel to Denmark in recent months to help with the training, media, including the Kyiv Independent, have reported.

Denmark is replacing its fleet of F-16s with new F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, but is also facing delays in receiving those on schedule from producer Lockheed Martin. DM

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